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Doc Sara, Veterinarian

Category: Dog Veterinary

Satisfied Customers: 952

Experience: I am a dog and cat veterinarian with a lifetime of experience in our family veterinary hospital.

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Brandy is a 16 yr old aussie shepherd. She has been doing

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HI Rebecca. Brandy is a 16 yr old aussie shepherd. She has been doing quite well considering her age. Back legs give out occasionally when trying to be like a puppy and chase the cats. In the last couple of days we have noticed her collapse a couple of times. She has had some vomiting. In the last few weeks she has taken to urinating in the house, in the last couple days her urinating has been a little more frequent. Not overly noticeable. Today she would not contemplate using the stairs and has taken to standing still and staring. Almost like she is confused. We had to take her by the collar and lead her to the door to go outside. Shehas pooped in the house a couple of times since last night. She seemed t go from fairly active for an elderly dog to almost motionless, dazed and confused overnight. Thank you

Hi there, I'm Dr. Sara. I'm a licensed veterinarian who works exclusively with dogs and cats. I'm really sorry to hear that Brandy has been so ill in the past few days. I know that when a senior pet becomes suddenly ill, it's very worrisome both to me and to owners.

Unfortunately, signs that you're describing are very vague and can be caused by a whole host of diseases. While they can lose their house training and start eliminating in the house out of forgetfulness as they age, this is usually a gradual process, not one that comes on all of a sudden. I'm concerned by her episodes of collapse that she could be having cardiac or circulatory problems or other "whole body" diseases like uncontrolled diabetes, kidney disease, or liver disease as the root of the problem. At her age, unfortunately, the list of diseases that could be going on is quite long. Likely her veterinarian will need some blood work to help sort out the problem too, as it can be difficult to tell something like how well their kidneys are functioning by just doing a physical examination. That sudden change from very active to very subdued is especially concerning. If it's at all possible for you to have her to an emergency clinic for an exam ASAP, that would be the best thing to do. If that's absolutely not possible, I would call your family vet first thing in the morning to see if they could fit her in tomorrow. I know that may not be what you want to hear, but there are just too many variables here that I can't evaluate without doing a physical exam myself and I'd feel terrible if I told you the wait it out or gave you an incorrect assessment and she continued to deteriorate. I hope that you can understand.

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I tried not to be vague, It is difficult to describe the things we are witnessing. The best way to describe what is very worrisome to us is that she stops and stares and looks scared and confused. The other symptoms are very worrisome as well. Our plan has been to watch her overnight until tomorrow morning and see how she is. We will have her to the vet asap in the morning for sure. Thanks for your time.

I know that you're not trying to be vague - you can't help it - the signs that she is showing are vague and you did a great job of describing them for me! Hopefully it's just age-related change but you're right to seek out an opinion from your family vet. Let me know if I can be of more assistance!